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Brian Orakpo to play in second straight Pro Bowl

By
Washington Post editors

The results of last weekend's NFL playoff games ensure that linebacker Brian Orakpo will head to the Pro Bowl for the second straight year.

Orakpo, a first alternate, will replace either the Bears' Lance Briggs or the Packers' Clay Mathews, one of whom will be playing in the Super Bowl. That player won't be available for the Pro Bowl, which will be played in Hawaii the week before Super Bowl XLV.

Orakpo joins cornerback DeAngelo Hall, the only Redskin selected to the game.

zeke- And the only one to play with a newly converted 3-4 D and have inadequate personnel in front of him?

btw...9 sacks ain't too shabby and I hated our 4-3 D (nobody should be pining for it to return). I'm glad we made the switch and when we get even average personnel around Orakpo he'll be well into the teens in sacks.

Posted by: zcezcest1 | January 18, 2011 7:15 PM
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Been following your string and I am a little confused. You seem to be saying that when Orakpo puts his hand down this makes him a defensive end, and when he plays standing up he's a linebacker. Is that correct? Lawrence Taylor used to play with his hand down and I never once heard anyone refer to him as an end. I don't think that is how you tell the difference between the two. What do you do with a 5-2? Who is the linebacker and who is the defensive linemen? Seven guys sometimes have their hands in the dirt.

I guess my point is you can call them what you want, but it is really hard to tell the difference in some defenses. I've seen the Steelers drop nose tackles back into pass coverage. Does that make the nose tackle a linebacker or a safety? Orakpo rushes the passer on almost every passing down but a linebacker in a 3-4 sometimes has to cover. I watched the Packers beat up the Eagles, and I saw Clay Matthews in coverage on McCoy. He did a lousy job by the way, but that is what happens with linebackers in pass coverage. I wouldn't dare say Matthews is a lousy linebacker and should be a defensive end.

fwiw, I keep bringing up Campbell because of the way this organization -- including the CURRENT leadership -- has looked at the QB spot. We've tossed away several quality QBs over the years in the hunt for something better.

You'd think it wouldn't be hard to improve on Campbell. But ... its harder than people think. We didn't do it with a 5 time Pro Bowler and a genius offensive-minded HC.

Historically, we've also let go of guys that turned out to be pretty good -- Trent Green and Rich Gannon among them.

The big picture is that this team -- including the CURRENT leadership -- has spent a ton of resources fixing the wrong things. Campbell isn't a great QB, but he wasn't near the top of the list of problems, either.

As long as management keeps trying to fix the things that aren't problems (like the 4-3 defense) or the QB, this franchise will struggle.

Posted by: zcezcest1 | January 18, 2011 4:37 PM | Report abuse

Your take on Campbell is asinine.

We did improve on Campbell in a couple ways.

We got more wins, and Dmac was passing for more yards/game despite being in his first year of a new offense (where Campbell was in Year 2).

JC was a RFA - what was the move? Keep him for a useless year, teach him a new offense, and let him walk for nothing? Sign him to an extension even though the staff clearly didn't want him to be their QB?

Instead they made a trade and got something back for him despite the fact that in 50+ starts he was sub-500 and a proven average-to-mediocre QB.

Blowing the wad on DMac was a waste of resources, but that's separate from getting rid of JC. I don't see how trading him for a pick could possibly be considered spending resources on a QB.

RSH -- you bring up a fair point about how players are used. Most defensive schemes aren't pure schemes, but use plenty of variations of that base formation in games.

My point, simplified, is that Orakpo is best doing the things a traditional DE does. That includes being lined up on the line of scrimmage, essentially at or near the edge.

Whether his hand is actually on the ground or not isn't a major issue for me.

Most guys are faster and more powerful coming out of a stance, I think that holds true for Orakpo. But against certain players or perhaps in certain situations, there might be a benefit to Orakpo standing up instead. No problem with that. An example might be the defense that doesn't want to show the QB where everyone is lined up, so guys don't go into their stance until late, if at all.

Really? We were 31st in yds allowed. If you can't hate that, what do you hate?

Posted by: zcezcest1 | January 18, 2011 8:41 PM

This is the same reasoning people used for JCamp. The defense's rank in yardage isn't relevant to how good a player Rak is, it's a reflection of the entire unit. Get players who fit the 3-4, see the production from Rak improve. You mention Rak being better served playing "DE' responsibilities. The sam can be said of Ware and Suggs who were both DEs converted to OLB. Rak isn't going to be a pure LB like Matthews or Harrison but that fact doesn't negate his talent nor his potential in the 3-4.

Smokybear, the reason they let Ryan Clark go was because he was UFA and asked to get paid. The Snyder/Cerrato front office was never big on keeping the talent developed in-house ... grass is always greener on the other side of the fence ... which is why they replaced Clark, the steadying influence in Sean Taylor's life, with Adam Archuleta.

Zcezcest, 31st in yds allowed but much closer to the middle on points allowed. Also, many more turnovers and I'm guessing also points scored off turnovers than Blache's 4-3.

Posted by: dcsween

About avg in turnovers this year. 21st in points allowed. The area of the defense that was really good was not committing penalties. One of the reasons we didn't give up as many points -- combined with th improvement in turnovers. Couldn't find a direct stat on defensive penalties, but we were tied for 3rd best in 1st downs allowed by penalty with just 13. The league average was 23 and 7 teams were over 30.

The whole team melted down in '09. A lot of guys took it down a notch once the season started to disintegrate. Still, it was a significantly better defense than what we had in 2010.

This crap about pure DE or pure OLB is as tard as the crap about someone only having the skills to play on the left side of the O-line or right side. A few years back, Adalius Thomas used to line up at every position (except NT) and more than just a few times. The guy was, like Orakpo (or Landry for that matter) just an outstanding athlete. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to be dropping Professor zcecest's class at this point.

It's going to take more than 1 draft and the worst FA in the history of FA to successfully covert to a 3-4. AND NO they shouldn't have waited because they needed to find who could play and who couldn't. I'll take the potential of a future dominant 3-4 D over the 10th ranked paper champ of a D from last YR that won us 4 games.

I suggest you read up on the 3-4 vs. the 4-3 and just how much easier it is to find impact players not only in the draft/FA but keep them and without breaking the bank.

This is the same reasoning people used for JCamp. The defense's rank in yardage isn't relevant to how good a player Rak is, it's a reflection of the entire unit. Get players who fit the 3-4, see the production from Rak improve. You mention Rak being better served playing "DE' responsibilities. The sam can be said of Ware and Suggs who were both DEs converted to OLB. Rak isn't going to be a pure LB like Matthews or Harrison but that fact doesn't negate his talent nor his potential in the 3-4.

Posted by: TWISI

The comment on the defense wasn't about Orakpo -- it was about the 4-3 comment of Diesel.

I think Orakpo has HOF talent as a DE. I think he's compromised at OLB. Sure he's a great talent and he'll be a good player at OLB. I simply don't think he's at his best there.

I'm not one who likes to design a defense around a player, but Orakpo is the sort of talent who I'd consider doing that for. I'd want to maximize his impact because he is the kind of player who can make an entire team better.

fwiw, 21 out of the 31 other teams had a sack leader with at least the same number of sacks as Orakpo -- and 6 teams (nyg, SEA, DET, STL, PIT, IND) had 2 guys with at least the same number of sacks as Orakpo.

To me, the system/position Orakpo operates in takes a exceptional player and makes him into a very good one.

I see that all the losers are here tonite, including Idiot Scramp ! You fools will never get enough drama ! Allen is as dumb as they come, you fools ! Scramp can put a bandaid on his mouth for all I care ! Fools !!!

Smokybear, the reason they let Ryan Clark go was because he was UFA and asked to get paid. The Snyder/Cerrato front office was never big on keeping the talent developed in-house ... grass is always greener on the other side of the fence ... which is why they replaced Clark, the steadying influence in Sean Taylor's life, with Adam Archuleta.

Posted by: dcsween | January 18, 2011 9:01 PM

Thanks dcsween. That time of my life was a difficult so I slacked in following other matters.

"I think Orakpo has HOF talent as a DE. I think he's compromised at OLB. Sure he's a great talent and he'll be a good player at OLB. I simply don't think he's at his best there."

Zeke- that's what you're missing. The rush 3-4 OLB position is ideal for Orakpo...Once again he needs to be surrounded by better personnel for him to make the same impact of Matthews, Ware, Suggs, etc.

Switch him with any of those guys and they would struggle with our personnel and PO would excel on their squads.

Now MrM, you shouldn't speak of other peoples mothers like that ! Besides, It's nothing personal ! You and the others are fools, and you know why that is ? You're dreamers that have nightmares when it comes to this team ! Fools !!!!

I suggest you read up on the 3-4 vs. the 4-3 and just how much easier it is to find impact players not only in the draft/FA but keep them and without breaking the bank.

Posted by: Diesel44

Its not any easier to build a 3-4 defense than a 4-3. Used to be, but that was before half the league went with it.

The hardest spot to fill is NT -- and outside of QB, it might be the hardest spot to fill on a team.

First, its hard to find a good NT. Second, you really need 2 because most NTs can't play 50+ snaps a game. And third, these guys seem to get injured quite bit -- the nature of the role they play.

I'd love to have the Steeler defense. But even it got exposed last year when Troy went down. They finished 12th in points allowed in 2009. With Troy healthy for most of this year, they were back to #1.

3-4 isn't an inherently better defense -- or cheaper for that matter. Both defense can be very successful.

According to former general manager Randy Mueller, “the 3–4 defensive end is easier to identify and find when it comes to scouting and acquiring personnel,” while 4–3 DEs “are rare and hard to find and therefore very expensive to keep. There is no question that speed pass rushers are very much an impact position on the football field and their cap numbers reflect that. On the other hand, 3–4 defensive ends can be found easier and are much less expensive when it comes to ‘cap dollars’.”

I have a home phone that is only used for the alarm system. I don't even know the number to it so I know that every time it rings it's a telemarketer. Since they are extremely annoying I have taken to being similarly annoying. Whenever that phone rings I pick it up and scream at the top of my lungs into the receiver and then promptly hang up. I figure it's equal to what I would have been put through had I actually answered.

Zeke- that's what you're missing. The rush 3-4 OLB position is ideal for Orakpo...Once again he needs to be surrounded by better personnel for him to make the same impact of Matthews, Ware, Suggs, etc.

Switch him with any of those guys and they would struggle with our personnel and PO would excel on their squads.

Posted by: Diesel44

We went from 40 sacks in 2009 to 29 this season -- with no major DL contributors lost (Griffin was the only DL guy of note that we let go), but several new DL brought in (Kemo, Carriker, Holliday).

We did get more turnovers, though I'm skeptical of that improvement.

QB pressure is a huge contributor to turnovers. We had 38% more sacks in 2009 on 10% FEWER pass plays. That is a big difference in pressure, yet we had 3 fewer INTs -- and one less forced fumble.

In 2009, we had 17 forced fumbles with 7 recoveries -- about 40%. We had 18 forced fumbles in 2010 with 12 recoveries -- 67%.

Most articles I've read suggest that forced fumbles aren't random -- but who recovers it pretty much is. That is, the improvement (+6 fumble recoveries) from recovering 40% of forced fumbles to 67% is more luck than anything else.

I have a home phone that is only used for the alarm system. I don't even know the number to it so I know that every time it rings it's a telemarketer. Since they are extremely annoying I have taken to being similarly annoying. Whenever that phone rings I pick it up and scream at the top of my lungs into the receiver and then promptly hang up. I figure it's equal to what I would have been put through had I actually answered.

Posted by: scampbell1975

funny ... and true story. Kept getting calls from an obviously Indian woman named .... Mary Smith. Of course, asking her to stop calling didn't do anything, so one call, I asked her bra size. And kept asking, with a bit more gusto ...

funny ... and true story. Kept getting calls from an obviously Indian woman named .... Mary Smith. Of course, asking her to stop calling didn't do anything, so one call, I asked her bra size. And kept asking, with a bit more gusto ...

The calls stopped.

Posted by: zcezcest1 | January 18, 2011 10:30 PM |

Good stuff. I had someone suggest using an air horn. Wonder if I could get sued if I burst one of their eardrums.

There was no overriding conclusion or clear cut answer about which defense is better. Some of the areas covered and the defense with the advantage -- but note that the differences are small in every case.

Sacks: 3-4
Forced fumbles: 4-3
Long runs: 3-4
Draft: 4-3
Cost: 3-4

As more teams go 3-4, the advantage is likely to move towards parity in cost (demand increases while supply doesn't) and increase with the draft.

Not just the eardrum... the broken back/neck resulting from their backflip at the cube, plus 2nd degree burns and loss of eyesight from the coffee scalding, plus mental trauma, etc. F'in lawyers win again, dammnit!

Not just the eardrum... the broken back/neck resulting from their backflip at the cube, plus 2nd degree burns and loss of eyesight from the coffee scalding, plus mental trauma, etc. F'in lawyers win again, dammnit!

I can't believe JC has been gone a whole year and we're still discussing him. Gay.

Posted by: scampbell1975 | January 18, 2011 10:15 PM |

Two guaranteed response getters - Camp and Haynie. JReid is a feeble-minded journalist but give him or someone he knows credit for being smart enough to realize that making a dickload of RI posts about AH was a surefire way to max out site traffic generation.

Two guaranteed response getters - Camp and Haynie. JReid is a feeble-minded journalist but give him or someone he knows credit for being smart enough to realize that making a dickload of RI posts about AH was a surefire way to max out site traffic generation.

Posted by: TubularBells | January 18, 2011 11:26 PM

This site already got dikloads of hits without the psuedo-journalistic bs he "posts."

So, what’s this mean? It’s a continuing work in progress, for one thing. If you just look at numbers, we got worse. Did we really? I'm not too sure. We did win 2 more games than in 2009.

We’ve switched to the 34, stay with it, folks. Do not change back now. If for no other reason than for the sake of the players.
I am currently reading Pat Kerwin’s analysis of 34 vs 43, link provided in other’s post above, thank you.

This crap about pure DE or pure OLB is as tard as the crap about someone only having the skills to play on the left side of the O-line or right side. A few years back, Adalius Thomas used to line up at every position (except NT) and more than just a few times. The guy was, like Orakpo (or Landry for that matter) just an outstanding athlete. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to be dropping Professor zcecest's class at this point.

Posted by: dcsween

fwiw, Sween, there are guys who play one side well and suck on the other. I've told the Chris Doleman in SF story on this. It was night and day. He sucked on one side and was a beast on the other.

Great athletes can be put in spots where they don't use their skills at max effectiveness. That's where I see Orakpo in this 3-4.

I agree with most that Rak would be better with more 3-4 suited players around him. But I also think he still has some developing to do. He needs to develop some pass rushing moves rather than just relying on his speed and strength. you rarely see him start inside and spin back outside as Freeney or ware do. Keeping in mind though that its only his 2nd season and he been to 2 pro bowls almost just using raw ability says a lot about his potential. If he develops some moves to use once his initial speed or bull rush don't work and get better support i think we're looking at 15 sacks per yr. And some acting classes to sell those holding penalties a little better of course.

I agree with most that Rak would be better with more 3-4 suited players around him. But I also think he still has some developing to do. He needs to develop some pass rushing moves rather than just relying on his speed and strength. you rarely see him start inside and spin back outside as Freeney or ware do. Keeping in mind though that its only his 2nd season and he been to 2 pro bowls almost just using raw ability says a lot about his potential. If he develops some moves to use once his initial speed or bull rush don't work and get better support i think we're looking at 15 sacks per yr. And some acting classes to sell those holding penalties a little better of course.

Some of you are putting way too much emphasis on his actual numbers. He was banged up this year and still put up 8.5 sacks with literally nobody else collapsing the pocket for him. Yeah, he was held on plays that looked like sure sacks that kept his numbers down too but the point is he was a force off the edge and was as disruptive as any OLB in the NFC

Players/opponents and coaches acknowledge this guy as a terror off the edge and a blossoming star. Keep in mind Julius Peppers had only 8 sacks this year and will most certainly finish in the top 5 voting for Defensive player of the year

OK, stay with me on this. After reading 2 of Pat Kerwin's articles about the 34 vs 43, and by the way he's got a great show with Tim Ryan on Sirius Satellite, the biggest number, not actual value, but a description, that I see an advantage of a 34 over the 43 is player contract prices. Secondly, there seems to be a pass defensive advantage in the 34, read interceptions, incomplete passes, etc. And as he said in the second article, there's more flexibility in smaller players (read some teams may overlook some because of size) are more successful running the outside in the 34. We, as the Redskins can be able to get more quality 34 players than in the 43. Important? Yes, we ARE rebuilding the team. Just a made up example; get 2 good 43 D linemen or 3 better 34 D linemen for just a little more. More for about the same $ and more players in the scheme equals the 34 gets my vote. Sorry, I'm not creative enough to make up salary or contract values. Someone else wanna make a try at it?

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